Sicilian Ricotta Cheesecake



What do you do with all that leftover ricotta from making a lasagne, and cannolis?

Make a ricotta cheesecake!

Totally different from a NY style cheesecake that is made with cream cheese. This is my favorite of all cheesecakes. Dense and not too sweet.

Nick Malgieri (master Italian baker) adds pignoli nuts and candied orange peel to his recipe, but you can add chocolate chips or nothing at all.

This is a basic ricotta cheesecake recipe:
you can omit the raisins, it's up to you.

Sicilian Ricotta Cheesecake:

2 pounds ricotta cheese (32 oz.)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Butter and flour a 9 1/2 inch springform pan, and tap out excess flour.
Place the ricotta in a large mixing bowl, and stir it as smooth as possible with a rubber spatula. Stir the sugar and flour together thoroughly into the ricotta. Stir in the eggs 1 at a time. Blend in the vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, raisins and salt. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until a light golden color. Make sure the center is fairly firm, and the point of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. It will sink slightly as it cools. Cover, and chill till serving time. Sprinkle w/ confectioners sugar.

It's so simple to make. Most people make this at Easter time, but I make it any time!



Comments

sweet blessed cheese this is a big winner in my book - I am going to bookmark this recipe and probably make it often....
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Stacey - Ricotta cheesecake has always been my favorite cheesecake - especially with the citrus flavor you added. I am wishing I had a slice of it for breakfast instead of my oatmeal. Looks delish.
kat said…
Oh how yummy! I've had a farmer's cheese cheesecake & this makes me think of that
LaDue & Crew said…
This is my favorite type of cheesecake, and this one looks perfect! I never have left over ricotta though!
Anonymous said…
Could that be any simpler? It's almost as shocking as discovering how easy it is to make your own ricotta (covered on lottie + doof a couple of months back). Clearly there are no excuses for not making this :)
Anonymous said…
Cinnamon, orange, and raisins. That sounds so good! No cracks and no water bath; how'd you do that?
Bob said…
I've never heard of that before, it looks awesome. I love all cheesecake, I'm going to have to try this. :)
Bob said…
I've never heard of that before, it looks awesome. I love all cheesecake, I'm going to have to try this. :)
Foodiewife said…
I am a huge fan of our blog. Thanks for posting this. I've been looking for a Ricotta Cheesecake recipe. I just made lasagna last week!
Peter M said…
I have no problem with lighter dessert options...no one said January had to be a bummer!
Karen said…
So simple and what a great cake to serve to company!
My hubby could eat this every night, I have to watch how often I make this. He has no self control, and could eat the whole thing if I didn't hide half of it. His favorite is with golden raisins, mine is with mini chocolate chips!
I can't show him this post!!
Wow... this looks soo darn good. I personally love raisins when they are baked in something, especially something that looks this good.

I'm going to sit here and drool a little while... :-)
Anonymous said…
I've never had a ricotta cheesecake but it's about time I think!
Anonymous said…
hey stace! looks great... can i ask if this is a tradional sicilian way of making cheesecake? i love when it's make like this (vs. ny cheesecake) but i didn't realize it was a regional italian way of doing it.
Anonymous said…
Looks more cakey than a normal cheesecake which would be perfect for me since I'm not into the super dense cheesecakes:-)
Anonymous said…
Love ricotta cheesecake. Yours looks divine...

--Marc
Anonymous said…
Omit the raisins? Naaah. Tsk tsk tsk. Stacey, we must start a popular event called "Ricotta with Stacey and Claire", the highlight would be meetings for the two of us to sample ricotta with bread and honey.
The Food Hunter said…
Ricotta cheesecake is one of my favorites. I don't make this often enough.
Anonymous said…
I've never even heard of ricotta cheesecake! This looks amazing. I can't wait to try. Thanks for the recipe!
Anonymous said…
Why can't we call the event 'Ricotta with Stacey, Claire & Zen'. I like ricotta too! :-)

Stacey, this looks fantastic!!
DEVOTEE said…
It's called Torta Pasqualina ( Easter Pie ) in Sicily. No Raisins, but delicately scented with lemon gratings.
Wonderfully posted!
Congrats
Sal
Unknown said…
Sounds great !! But......just curious, does it make its own crust?
Thanks so much,
DJG
Anonymous said…
I have made this cake twice and both times it has turned out quite eggy ! not like the texture in your picture. What size eggs do you use?? I used 700g eggs but Just wondering what I am doing wrong as am really looking for that baked ricotta texture and this had an impossible pie texture. I refuse to give up as it smells divine when baking and has a great ingredient list
Stacey Snacks said…
Anon,
I agree, this is a bit eggy, and I use extra large eggs!

Try this recipe, I like it even better, and only 3 eggs. It's my favorite ricotta cake.

http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2013/10/heavenly-ricotta-raisin-cake.html